"I take all major decisions for our family."

"Right before I got married, I got these tattoos on my hands and face. People would get different tattoos depending on where they come from. That way, one could never get lost. But nowadays you don’t do that any longer. A lot of things have changed.

When I grew up, I lived in a village some 10 kilometres from here, but when I got married, I moved here with my husband. I have been married to my husband for more than 30 years. I never went to school, neither did he. Those things were not important back then. Together we have three sons and two daughters. The two daughters are married and live with their husbands. Our sons and their wives and kids live here with me. Together with my husband’s brothers and their wives we are now a family of 20 in our home.

Ever since my husband died, I am the oldest of our family. So, I take all major decisions for our family. My children and grandchildren consult me for all the decisions that need to be taken in our household and on our farm - whether it be which crops we sow this season, what we spend the money that we make from farming on, or whether we buy a new television. I don’t work on the farm directly anymore, for that I am too old by now. But I still go to the field every day and check whether the crops are healthy.

I am also part of a group of women, we meet regularly and prepare organic inputs for the farm. Some tasks in farming are women’s tasks, and some are men’s tasks. Women do the sowing, the weeding, and the picking of cotton, whereas men work with the animals to plough the soil.

Altogether we have 25 acres of land. Earlier, we had more land, but this is now gone because of the dam that was built here in the area. We got compensation from the government for it, but more importantly, because of the dam, we built some irrigation facilities on our farm. That way, we can produce more crops also during the dry season. Half of the crops that we grow we use for our own consumption, the other half we sell. From the money that we make from farming, we send some of that money to my grandchildren who went to bigger cities to study. I hope that when they finish studying and get a good job, they can send money back home, so that we can renovate our house or even get a car. I am glad that they study, as these things are important now.

But I am also really proud that one of my grandsons will continue farming. Because we have our land here and have been doing organic farming for the last 25 years. This is our home. Some things have not changed – and will not change."

Ajodhya Bai is 55 years old and lives in Kakwada. She has been a registered organic farmer with Remei India Ltd since 2004.

More portraits

fibl.org: Faces of Organic Cotton